Party of Two
by JeanieMD
Summary: Out of season, I know, but someone wanted a New Year's Eve party. Andy and Sam, settling into married life.
1. Chapter 1

**Party of Two**

"Did you know that Traci is dating Bailey?" Andy called from the kitchen, where she had just been involved in a long phone call.

"ETF Bailey?" asked Sam. "No, I didn't know – are you sure?"

"She just told me. Apparently they've gone out a few times. I guess she was keeping it quiet until she got to know him better, because of what happened with Steve. I don't really know him at all, except for the fact that he saved my life when I was holding the grenade – he made a pretty good first impression."

"Yeah, that earned him a whole bunch of points in my book," Sam replied. "I tend to like people who save your life."

"The reason she is telling people now is that she's having a New Year's Eve party – I mean _they_ are. We'll go, right?"

"Sure, if you want to. When are they having it?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding? On December 31st!" Andy said incredulously as she came out of the kitchen to look at him. Seeing his tongue stuck firmly in his cheek she had to laugh. He got her so many times because he could say the silliest things in the most matter-of-fact voice. "You are such an idiot," she said as she walked across the living room to the couch where he was sitting reading.

"I know," he said, trying but not succeeding very well to look pathetic. "But you love me anyway, right? So what does that say about you?"

"I guess I'm an idiot too," Andy said with a chuckle. She flopped down sideways on the couch, with her head in his lap and her legs stretched out so her feet stuck over the end.

With a huge sigh Sam put a bookmark in his book and set it down on the coffee table.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting you at a good part?" Andy said, trying, not very hard, to sit up.

Sam grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back to his lap. "Get back here," he said ferociously as Andy pretended to struggle. Subduing her with very little effort, he gave her a big smacking kiss, holding her close in his arms. "I think going to a New Year's Eve party at Traci's would be great."

"You always manage to surprise me," Andy said thoughtfully. "I really thought you would prefer to stay home."

"I would _always_ prefer to stay home," Sam agreed, "but that's not fair to you, and I figure it's in my best interest to keep you happy."

"You just keep on thinking that," cooed Andy. "I think you'll find it pays off in the long run."

" _Long_ run? How about the short run?" Sam murmured into her ear as his hands made their way up inside the fleece shirt she was wearing. "How about right now?"

Andy tilted her head away from him so she could look up into his face. "Oh, alright," she said with an exaggerated sigh, "If you insist."

Sam swooped down to kiss her thoroughly. "I do insist," he said. "If I'm being so co-operative I think you should co-operate too."

"And just exactly how would you like me to do that?" Andy demanded. "Should I be taking my shirt off? Maybe taking your shirt off? Please tell me just what would demonstrate an appropriate level of co-operation?"

"That's a pretty good start," Sam responded with a grin. "Why don't you get going on that?"

Andy stood up and faced away from him, unbuttoning her shirt and letting it fall on the floor behind her. Sam was delighted to see that she wasn't wearing a bra, and when she turned around to face him he reached for both her hands and pulled her back into his lap again.

"That's a _really_ good start," he said as he bent to kiss her, and his hands moved over her bare skin, stroking and caressing until Andy was almost purring. She reached up and tried to pull off his t-shirt, but she was in an awkward position so Sam let go of her just long enough to pull it off himself, then pulled her back as close as he could. "I'll never get tired of feeling your skin on mine," he said as he pressed her bare breasts to his chest.

"Mmmm, feels so good,"` Andy agreed. "It would be even better if I could feel your skin all the way down to my toes."

"It would. Whaddya say we move this into the bedroom, and you can feel all the skin you want?"

"I don't see how I can pass up a romantic suggestion like that," Andy said with a laugh. "I'll race you," and she jumped up and ran down the hall. By the time Sam got to the bedroom she was naked and reclining on the bed in an exaggeratedly sexy pose.

Sam stood still just inside the door. His gaze swept from her face to her toes, with such intensity that Andy felt herself blushing along the same path. She waited in silence, though, until he shook his head and crossed the room to the bed.

"Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

"My thoughts are worth a lot more than a penny! What I'm thinking about is how lucky I am to have a sex goddess all ready and waiting for me in my bed. Sometimes it's like I'm dreaming, but I know I'm awake. And I think about how much my life has changed since you tackled me in that alley, and how close I came to losing you, and how grateful I am that we're together now. Now, and forever."

Andy's face revealed conflicting emotions. She wanted to laugh at the "sex goddess" comment, but she could feel the prickling of tears as Sam expressed the depth of his feelings. She couldn't help but think back over the seven years she had known this man, and how dramatically he had changed. There was no more wondering what was going on in his head – he told her every day, not only through his actions, but also in words. She opened her arms wide, and as Sam lay down beside her she pulled him into her embrace. For a moment they just lay there, side by side, looking into each other's eyes. Then Andy tilted her head slightly, and brought her lips to his in a tender kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

When the alarm went off the next morning – Andy having remembered to put her phone safely on her side of the bed, given Sam's tendency to turn it off so they could stay in bed a little longer – the morning routine of coffee, shower, more coffee and a bite of breakfast went unusually smoothly. As she checked her hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror, Andy smiled at the sound of Sam humming to himself in the bedroom. Now that was something most people wouldn't have believed, not all that long ago. Great cop, smart, funny, compassionate, but not the kind of guy who goes around humming. Ever since the wedding it seemed that Sam had reached a whole new level of emotional wellbeing that was part contentment, part peace of mind, and it warmed Andy's heart to see him this way.

"Let's go, Mr. McNally," she called as she buttoned her jacket and picked up her go bag. The keys for the truck were in a bowl on the hall table, and she chuckled as she picked them up and headed out the door. The new system to determine who would drive in the morning was based on whoever grabbed the keys first; the other would drive home. It wasn't all that often that Andy got to them first. Her seatbelt was already buckled by the time Sam came out the door, and she made a point of checking her watch, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel.

"Let's go, Mrs. Swarek," Sam said as he settled into the passenger seat. "Do you know who you're riding with today?"

"Maybe Chloe?" Andy replied. "I know Oliver likes his little mix-and-match games, but I like settling in with one partner for a while. That way you can develop a routine, get to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. I think that benefits everybody."

"Well, I'd have to agree that it was certainly a benefit for me, being partnered with one person for a good long stretch." Sam reached over to stroke the back of Andy's neck, then gave her a mini-neck rub. Andy purred a little, patting his hand as it rested on her shoulder.

"If you're doing that so I'll relax, it really isn't necessary," she said with a smile. "I don't think I could get much more relaxed after last night."

"And this morning? Let's not forget about this morning!"

"Well, yes, this morning was particularly memorable, with Boo jumping on the bed wanting to play too!" Andy laughed. "Didn't you find that a little distracting?"

"Did I seem distracted to you, McNally? I don't think my attention lost any focus, Boo or no Boo. If you have any complaints, though, I'll try to make up for it tonight. Satisfaction guaranteed, that's my motto."

"Oh, yes, I was perfectly satisfied," Andy replied as she pulled in to a parking spot right beside Traci's car. "If I had any complaints I'd let you know right away."

"I'm sure you would," Sam chuckled, getting out of the truck and waiting at the back for Andy to join him. He gave her a quick kiss before taking her hand and heading for the door. They had both agreed that they would try to keep the PDAs to a minimum during working hours.

Traci was fixing two coffees when Sam came into the lunchroom. "How are you liking Guns and Gangs, Nash?" Sam asked.

"I'd have to say it's a work in progress," Traci replied. "There's already a great network of CIs, all the records are well organized, and everyone there has been very co-operative. It could have been really awkward, all things considered, but I think it's going OK."

"That's great," Sam said sincerely. "You've handled yourself so well, and with so much integrity, that before you even started you had already earned their respect, and that's half the battle."

"Thanks, Swarek, I appreciate that," Traci said seriously. "This isn't where I thought my career would go, but I plan to make the best of it. Now I gotta go before this coffee gets cold."

"Who's the second cup for, Nash?" Sam asked with a grin.

"Nobody – I always take two," Traci threw back over her shoulder as she hurried out of the lunchroom.

"I'm sure Bailey will enjoy it," Sam called after her.

It was a quiet day, all things considered; usually the pre-Christmas period was full of shoplifting calls, smash-and-grab car thefts, and impaired drivers weaving their way home from office parties, but all the calls were handled easily and the shift ended with no call for overtime. Sam and Andy headed for the Penny so they could catch up with their friends.

The Penny never seemed to change. Dov and Chloe were there playing darts with Chris, Nick and Juliet, although most people agreed that arming the easily-distracted Chloe with darts wasn't the greatest idea. So far there didn't seem to be any puncture wounds, but the night was young.

Oliver was sitting with Traci, deep in conversation. Sam and Andy made their way to join them after Sam got a pitcher of beer from the bar. "This looks pretty serious, guys – what's going on?" Andy asked, leaning over to give Traci a quick hug.

"Is it OK to tell them about the party?" Oliver asked Traci in an exaggerated stage whisper. "I don't want to hurt their feelings if they're not invited."

Traci laughingly reassured him that they were already invited, so Oliver patted the seat of the chair beside him for Andy to sit down. "I've offered to help with the party," he said, "but Nash doesn't seem to want my and Celery's assistance. I told her it's too much for her to organize all by herself, but she swears she'll manage,"

"Well, she'll get all the help she needs from – ow!" Sam yelped, looking at Andy with a pained expression. "What was that for?"

"I just need to tell you something," Andy muttered as she stood up and grabbed Sam's hand. "We'll be right back," she directed at Oliver, leaving him with a puzzled look on his face.

She dragged Sam a few feet away from the table and turned so her back was to Oliver. "I don't think she's told anybody else about Bailey," she said urgently. "I think the big reveal will be at the party."

"Oops, sorry, but you need to give me a heads-up about things like that, so you don't have to kick me under the table."

"I'm so sorry," Andy said sweetly. "I promise I'll make it feel all better when we get home."

"All right then," Sam said, and turned her around to head back to the table. Andy gave a little yelp as she felt him cup her behind and give a little squeeze.

Oliver looked confused and Traci seemed flustered when Sam and Andy joined them, but before too long Oliver was telling Traci some of Sam's misadventures while working undercover for Guns and Gangs. Traci was gasping for breath with tears streaming down her face when Sam finally interrupted Oliver's storytelling with a few gems from the staff sergeant's early years. Pretty soon after that Oliver was checking his watch and muttering about an early morning start, and the friends went their separate ways.

"Do you want anything?" Andy called from the kitchen as Sam checked the mail in the living room.

"Nah, I think I'm good," he said as he divided the mail between the in-box on the counter and the recycling box by the back door. "It must be just about bedtime, don't you think?" he murmured into her ear, poking his chin over her shoulder. He started nibbling gently at the side of her neck until she ducked out from under his arms and took his hand.

"Bedtime it is," she replied, and led the way down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is not going at all the way I thought it would. I start in one direction and other things pop up. Please let me know if it isn't working!

SECOND AUTHOR'S NOTE: my good friend guest has pointed out: "Sam had a guitar in his bedroom in S6 so I can only guess why McNally didn't notice in 6 years. Seems McNally and many viewers aren't very observant." I think it only indicates that I personally am not very observant, as I honestly didn't remember this. My apologies, and thanks to Guest for making me aware.

"Brrrrr!" Andy shuddered as she tried to kick grey slush off her boots.

"What's the matter – can't get the door open?" asked Chris as he came up behind her.

"No, just trying to avoid tracking all this frozen mess inside," Andy replied.

"You're probably the only one who worries about that," Chris laughed. "Have you seen the floors lately? There's a mat inside the door but it's completely soaked and can't absorb any more. Come on, let's just get inside." He held the door open so Andy could precede him into the welcoming warmth.

It was late in the evening on December 24th, and the five "rookies" (they all wondered if people would ever stop referring to them that way, after six years on the job), along with some other single officers and detectives, had volunteered to work so their colleagues with families could spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with them. In return those colleagues would fill the New Year's Eve/New Year's Day shifts. Andy and her friends would have a low-key festive Christmas celebration at the station when time allowed, with cookies, eggnog (sadly _sans_ rum), hot apple cider (soft, not hard), hot chocolate, and mandarin oranges available in the lunchroom throughout their shift. They were looking forward to ringing in the New Year at Traci's party the following week.

After hanging up her jacket Andy decided that hot chocolate was absolutely necessary, and headed towards the lunchroom. As she turned a corner she nearly ran headlong into Sam, who swerved out of the way just in time, lifting the big mug in his hand out of harm's way. "Easy, McNally," he chuckled, "No need to knock me down – I've got your hot chocolate right here." He handed her the Santa-shaped mug, which was topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of crushed candy cane.

"Oh my God you are a lifesaver," she exclaimed, wrapping her hands around Santa's wonderfully warm cheeks. "This is so good," she continued. "Where did the whipped cream come from?"

"I got Epstein to pick up a can earlier today. Not as good as freshly whipped, but at least it's real cream, not the fake stuff. I know how you like your hot chocolate."

"You're spoiling me, but please don't stop!" Andy said with a smile. "I'd love to stay here with you but I have reports to type up and paperwork to file, or I'll never get out of here."

"Go! Type, file, do what you have to do because I can hardly wait to get home." Sam gave her a gentle nudge to send her on her way, and headed to the Ds' office.

Chloe was waiting at the desk, notebook in hand so she could contribute to the report that had to be written. "Hey, Andy! How long do you think it will take to get this done?"

"Not too long, I hope – why, do you have something to do?"

"Well, I thought that I would get everybody together so we could go sing carols at the Penny. Wouldn't that be so much fun?"

Andy shook her head, wondering once again where Chloe got all that energy. And where she came up with her ideas. "Honestly, do you see the guys participating in a carol sing-along? Or Gail?"

"Why not?" Chloe demanded. "Singing carols is one of the best things about Christmas, isn't it? If you think they wouldn't want to do it in public, we could just sing here at the station."

"Chloe, if you can get everyone on board, I'll happily join you. But I'm not holding my breath."

"No, don't hold your breath – that's not good if you're going to be singing."

Andy laughed. She was pretty sure that caroling would not be happening, and she could go home with Sam, get into her pjs, and watch "The Grinch", or "Charlie Brown Christmas", or "It's a Wonderful Life".

After she and Chloe finished their report and submitted it Andy headed for the locker room to shower and change. When she came out of the shower room with a towel wrapped around her head she thought she heard music. Sticking her head out the locker room door she could definitely hear somebody tuning a guitar. What now?

After dressing in her street clothes Andy headed for the Ds' office to let Sam know she was ready to leave. He wasn't there – in fact the office was deserted. Andy followed the sound of the guitar to the bullpen, where she was stunned to see that Chloe had gathered everyone together, handed out carol sheets, and was looking at Chris, who was strumming a guitar. Andy had to admit it sounded pretty good.

"OK, everyone, let's get over to the Penny! And I expect all of you to show up," Chloe ordered, and in spite of some rebellious muttering everyone arrived and gathered obediently in the area where Chloe had cleared some space.

Chloe started passing out Santa hats, which were not going over all that well. When Chloe offered one to Gail the withering look she got in return would have left most people close to tears, but Chloe just smiled and put the hat down on the table beside her. Dov, of course, would have done anything to please his girlfriend, and Chris, being Chris, was wearing his and seemed quite happy about it. Sam and Traci were sitting at a back table, and apparently Chloe had started with them because Traci was wearing her hat and making it look like the latest fashion accessory, while Sam was twisting his in his hands with a faraway look on his face.

Andy was thinking about Sam's Christmas memories, most of which were unhappy ones, and she was actually surprised that he had agreed to come at all. She headed for the table and sat down beside him, to be greeted with a one-arm hug and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Do you want to get out of here?" Andy asked quietly.

"What? Why, do you?" Sam asked, turning to look at her. "I thought you'd want to join in."

"Really? Have you ever heard me sing?" Andy asked, laughing. "I can barely carry a tune."

"I think with Christmas carols what is most important is enthusiasm – and I know you have lots of that," Sam replied. "Besides, I get a kick out of watching Chloe managing things. She's pretty bossy for such a little person."

"Yes she is," said Andy, nodding in agreement. "Sure we can stay, but I thought you wanted to get home right away."

"I did, but this could be fun, and I'd like to see if Diaz would let me have a turn on the guitar."

"What?" Andy sputtered. "You play guitar? Why do I not know this? Who _are_ you?"

"I guess it never came up. I haven't played for a while –"

"Yeah, like six years! Do you have one hidden away some place?"

"No, I gave mine away to a kid I met when I was undercover – he was headed for trouble but I could tell that he liked music, so I let him try mine and he was hooked. That's what Charlie did with me. I just never got around to getting a new one."

"Your T.O.? That Charlie?"

"Yeah, he taught me to play, and I found it was something that could take me away from some of the things in my life that weren't very pleasant."

Sam was looking past Andy, and she realized that he was thinking about the past. She took his hand and squeezed it, and said softly, "That's something else I have to thank Charlie for. Anything that helped you through rough times, to be the person you are now."

Sam turned to look at her, and slung his arm loosely over her shoulders, smiling contentedly.

"OK, everybody, let's get started. Chris, how about "Jingle Bells" for a warm-up?" Chloe rapped loudly on the table to get everyone's attention. Chris strummed a couple of chords and they got off to a ragged start. "Stop!" said Chloe, "Let's begin again – on the count of three. One, two, three!"

This time they started up more or less in unison, and after a couple of choruses everyone was showing a lot more energy. They went through a few more of the most familiar carols, and then Sam got up and went over to Chris, leaning down to speak softly into his ear.

"Absolutely!" Chris said, standing up and handing over the guitar. As Sam sat down and strummed a few chords to get the feel of the instrument, the room subsided into total silence. People looked at each other, then back at Sam, and it was clear that no one knew what to expect.

Sam looked up then and said, "I think everybody knows this one," and began playing "Blue Christmas". People started out singing along, but gradually the voices died away as they realized that Sam was singing exactly like Elvis, and this was a side of Detective Swarek that they had never seen. At the end of the first verse Sam suddenly realized that he was giving a solo performance, and he stopped playing abruptly, visibly embarrassed.

"No!" "Keep going! " "Come on, Sammy!" The calls came from around the room, and Sam looked to the back of the room where Andy was sitting with a look of absolute delight on her face. She was nodding vigorously, so Sam grinned at his audience and started to play again. At the end of the song people whistled and cheered, and when Sam tried to give the guitar back to Chris, Diaz shook his head and backed away, gesturing for Sam to keep playing.

A couple of hours later both Sam and Chris indicated that they were pretty much done, and the group began to head off in their separate directions. When they got to the truck Andy stopped and turned to Sam, wrapping her arms around him in a bear hug.

"What's that for? Not that I'm complaining," Sam said with a chuckle.

"Nothing in particular – except that it turns out I'm married to an Elvis impersonator!" Andy replied, lifting her face to his and giving him an enthusiastic kiss. "How did that even happen?

"Elvis was my mother's favourite singer, and his Christmas album was the only seasonal recording she had, so it got played a lot. I tried to sing like him because it made her smile."

"Well I think you sound amazing," Andy said.

"Well, thank you, ma'am. Thank you very much," Sam drawled.


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the great reviews! Someone mentioned liking the reference to Elvis, and having heard something about Ben Bass actually playing an early Elvis. That's where I got the idea - he was in the musical "Are You Lonesome Tonight" at the Charlottetown Festival, and I heard him discussing it - and singing "Trouble" - on a TV interview. He did a great Elvis impression!

The long week after Christmas was finally over and the only item on the Swarek-McNally agenda was Traci's – oops, Traci's and Bailey's – New Year's Eve Party. Andy was looking forward to dressing up a little; she spent her working life in uniform, her travel time to and from work in jeans. At home most of her time seemed to be spent either in seasonally-appropriate pjs (which currently meant winter-weight flannel) or naked. Either one was fine with Andy.

For the party tonight she had chosen a black suede pencil skirt, and she thought her Christmas present from Traci, an impossibly soft cashmere sweater in winter white, would be very appropriate. Obviously she'd need boots until they got to Traci's, but she had a killer pair of shoes – bright red – in her bag that would be the perfect accent.

Sam was in the shower and Andy was still in a tank top and yoga pants, laying out her underwear, skirt and sweater on the bed when the phone rang. She checked call display and smiled. "Hey Trace, what do you need us to pick up on the way?"

"No, that's not it – we were wondering if Sam would bring his Christmas present. Do you think he'd be willing?"

"I'm pretty sure he'd be happy to," Andy said. "We'll see you later." Ending the call, she thought back to December 27th when they had finally opened their gifts. Andy had given Sam a beautiful acoustic guitar, having decided that this newly-discovered (by her) talent should be encouraged. He hadn't been able to figure out what the big package under the tree could be, but started carefully removing the wrapping paper after setting the big red bow to one side. Andy watched impatiently until she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Just rip it!" she had said, and reached forward to help.

Sam swatted her hand aside and continued peeling off the tape. "It's important to reuse and recycle," he said seriously, "and I want to prolong the excitement. I'll get it open soon enough."

"Fine," Andy pouted, and she sat back to watch the drawn-out process. Finally the paper was folded and laid aside and Sam took a good look at the box. He looked at Andy in bewilderment.

"Do I need a stainless steel electric wine cooler?" he had asked. "Do we drink so much wine that we need this?"

"Well, that gift is something you definitely need," Andy replied with an amused expression on her face. "Just open it up – I guarantee you'll like it."

"Boy, it's pretty light," he had said. "Doesn't feel like anything made of stainless steel."

"Oh my God, just open it already!" Andy had exclaimed in frustration.

Sam pretended to cower away in fear, until she had to laugh. "You're such a goof," she said. "Please, just open the box."

"Okey-doke," he said cheerfully, and pulled the end of the box open. It was full of packing peanuts, and he bent over and shoved one hand into them. Suddenly he stood up straight, looked at Andy with a big, dimpled smile, and reached into the box with both hands. Carefully he lifted out the guitar and examined it carefully, turning it over and brushing his fingers over the strings.

"Andy. It's beautiful! I love it – thank you." He had held the guitar in one hand and with the other reached out to pull her close. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her thoroughly. Then he frowned a little and said, "Does this mean I don't get my wine cooler?"

'Fraid not," Andy replied. "Only the guitar."

Sam heaved a huge sigh. "Oh well, I suppose this will have to do," he said sadly. Then he had reached under the tree and pulled out one more present. "Here you go," he said as he handed it to Andy. "Last one's for you."

Despite the previous lecture on recycling, Andy ripped off the paper to reveal a little box from Sam's favourite jewellery store. "Ooh, what's this? Oh, it's a new charm for my bracelet! Sam, a grenade? Seriously?"

"Yes, a grenade. It represents something pretty significant –the first time I ever told you I love you."

Andy had closed her fingers around the charm and leaned over to give Sam a kiss. "I love it. And you. Thank you."

Andy's daydreaming was interrupted when Sam wandered into the bedroom, hair still damp from his shower and wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist..

"What time do we have to leave for the party?" he asked.

"Traci said we should be there around 9:00."

"Oh good, we have some time." Sam grinned, and dropped the towel.

"Sam! I don't think we have time enough for what you have in mind," Andy protested as he grabbed her hand and pulled her close,

"Have we got fifteen minutes, maybe twenty?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. He started fiddling with the hem of the tank top with one hand, reaching around behind her and drawing her in close.

"Oh, you mean a quickie," Andy giggled. "Maybe there's enough time for that."

"Good," Sam replied. "Arms up," he requested and Andy followed his instructions. The tank top was off and tossed across the room, and Sam slid a hand down the back of the yoga pants to caress her bottom. Andy's arms wound around his neck and she leaned in for a kiss. For a moment she did nothing more than press her lips to his, enjoying the sensation of being so close, just breathing. Then Sam deepened the kiss until Andy parted her lips and met his tongue with her own. She sucked gently on his lower lip, and his tongue, and wriggled her body against his to get even closer. He smiled against her mouth as she began to make the soft little noises he loved. One hand stroked down her throat, over her shoulder, until it reached her breast. His fingers brushed her nipple and he felt her body quiver against him.

Andy pulled her mouth away from his and said breathlessly, "I think we need to move this to the bed before I fall down."

Sam took a step backwards, and another until he reached the bed. Wordlessly he turned them both around so Andy's back was to the bed and her calves bumped up against the mattress. He gave her a gentle push so she collapsed backwards and he bent down to grab her ankles in one hand, swiveling her around. The other hand found the top of her yoga pants and pushed them down her legs, and she wriggled her feet against each other to get rid of them completely.

Sam pulled away from her just a little, gazing with appreciation as Andy lay perfectly still. She could feel waves of arousal throughout her body as Sam's eyes travelled from her toes up to her face, and she shivered slightly as she waited for him to come to her. He shook his head a little, and moved across her legs to straddle her. She returned his gaze, sweeping from his face down to his chest and lower still. She reached one hand to the back of his neck, pulling him down to her waiting lips, while the other moved down his body until she could take hold of his erection.

Sam inhaled sharply as she grasped him, and she spread her legs apart until she could guide him inside her. She rocked her hips up underneath him, encouraging him to move against her, and gasped softly as she felt him filling her completely. They moved together, slowly at first but with gathering urgency. Sam withdrew almost all the way, thrusting back into her and repeating the motion again and again. Andy could feel the gathering sensation within her body and knew she was seconds away from her climax. She pressed her hands against Sam's lower back as she rocked her hips in time with Sam's rhythm.

"I'm almost there," she panted. "I want you so much – I need you so much – oh, Sam, I love you."

She felt Sam explode within her as her inner walls contracted around his throbbing penis, and heard his voice, muffled in her hair, repeating the same words again and again, "I love you too – oh God, Andy, I love you too."

He sank down on top of her, knowing that she liked to feel his whole weight on her. She held him tightly in her arms, enjoying the last sensations that quivered between their connected bodies. Sam nuzzled into the curve of her neck, sighing in contentment. Andy threaded her fingers into his hair, stroking the back of his head, perfectly happy to stay still, just relaxing.

Suddenly she remembered the party, and she pulled his hair a little to get his attention. "Up," she said into his ear. "Up – we have to get up! We have to get dressed and get over to Traci's! Come on, Sam, don't go to sleep."

Sam groaned, then pushed himself up and away from her, rolling over onto his back to lie beside her for a moment. "Yeah, I guess we do need to do that. No, wait – are you absolutely sure we need to do that?"

"I'm sure," Andy replied firmly. "I'm taking a quick shower and then getting dressed. Do not follow me into that bathroom!"

"OK, boss." Sam lay still a couple of minutes, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. He sat for a moment, and then stood up, stretched, and headed for the bathroom. "I'm coming in, but don't worry – I just need to ah, refresh myself after that very pleasant interlude."

"You do that," Andy replied from behind the shower curtain. "I'm just about done in here."

"That's good, because we don't want to be late. If we are, I'm going to tell Traci that it's all your fault because you seduced me while I was trying to get ready for her party," Sam called back over his shoulder as he went back to the bedroom.

"Yep, she'll believe that," Andy said as she stepped out of the shower. "In order to avoid that great big lie, let's get dressed and on our way."

"Almost done," Sam said smugly, doing up the belt of his dark grey pants after tucking in his deep red shirt.

"You look good," Andy said appreciatively. "It will only take me a minute to get dressed and we can go. Oh, I almost forgot! Traci asked if you would please bring your guitar."

"Yeah? Sure, I can do that. But I don't know any New Year's Eve carols."

Andy laughed. "That's OK, you can do some more Elvis. Thank you, for agreeing to go to the party and for bringing the guitar."

Sam came over to give her a gentle kiss. "Anything I can do to make you happy," he said softly.

"You do make me happy – very, very happy," Andy replied. "Now, let's get going."

"Let's," said Sam.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

When they got to Traci's apartment they discovered that they were the first to arrive. "I told everybody else 9:30," Traci told them. "I thought it would be nice for the four of us to have a drink together before the gang gets here. Dan's just in the kitchen making more ice."

"Great idea," Sam said as he gave Traci a quick hug. He was helping Andy off with her coat when Bailey came into the living room.

"Happy New Year, McSwareks," he said with a big grin. "Glad you could come."

"We're glad to be here," replied Andy. "Spending New Year's Eve with my husband, my best friend, and the guy who saved my life? What could compete with that?"

Sam shook hands with Bailey and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good to see you, man. I don't think I've seen you since the day of Traci's raid. Sorry you couldn't come to the wedding."

"Me too," answered Dan. "In my line of work, as soon as we figure out one way to stop people from blowing things up, they develop something entirely different so we spend a lot of time at information-sharing workshops. I wish I could say it's getting better, but I'm sure you know I'd be lying. Not only do we have the organized criminals with sophisticated techniques, but also the amateurs like Ted McDonald who go off in all different directions. Sometimes literally! And their stuff is harder to figure out because it's so disorganized."

Traci and Andy looked at each other and laughed, and Andy said, "How about a little less shop talk and a little more of that promised pre-party beverage?"

"I'll get the drinks, Dan - could you take their coats and put them in Leo's bedroom?" Traci asked. As he took Sam's jacket and Andy's coat and headed down the hall, Andy asked where Leo was.

"He's spending this week with Dex's family – we're trying to arrange a schedule for special holidays so the grandparents all get to see him. It seems to be working out pretty well," Traci answered.

"That's good," Andy said. "Can I help you with those drinks?"

"No, that's OK, I've got a tray all ready and I can just set it up here on the counter."

Andy looked into Traci's compact galley kitchen and had a sudden flashback to the night she and Sam had been sitting on the floor, waiting for the balcony intruder. Traci looked at her and gave her a quick hug. "A lot's happened in the last year, hasn't it?" she said quietly. "I think we're pretty lucky to have gotten through it all as well as we have."

Sam had wandered over to the balcony doors to look out at the lights of the city, but turned around and came back to the two girls. "You're right, Nash, we are four lucky people. I'm looking forward to getting to know Bailey a lot better away from work – spending time with him _at_ work tends to be stressful!"

Bailey caught the last part as he came back from depositing the coats, and he chuckled. "Too true, man," he said with a chuckle. "Most of my fellow cops prefer to go days, weeks, months without ever needing to see me."

"Not entirely true," Sam protested. "There's nobody I would want beside me more for a raid or a rescue. It's the exploding aspect that we prefer to avoid."

"Enough talk about work!" Traci and Andy exclaimed in unison.

"You just can't help yourselves, can you?" Andy added, laughing. "Come sit down."

As they settled comfortably on the two small couches, Dan raised his glass. "Here's to a new year with good times and good friends,"

"Good times and good friends," the others echoed, lifting their glasses.

"Who else is coming tonight?" Andy asked.

"Oliver and Celery will be here, Chris, Dov and Chloe, Nick and Juliet, Gail – not sure if she's bringing Frankie or coming solo – and Sue Tran," Traci replied.

"I hope that won't be awkward," Dan added. "I invited her because we work so closely together but we don't get much chance to socialize. It completely slipped my mind that she and Epstein had been a couple for a while."

"At 15 it's like walking through a minefield, trying to get past the complicated relationships and former relationships," Sam said with a smile. "If you only invited people who had never been involved with anyone other than their current partner, you'd have a pretty small guest list."

"That's for sure!" Traci responded. "Oh, I forgot – Frank and Noelle are going to try to get here, depending on their sitter situation. Their regular wasn't available – she was booked for tonight sometime back in October."

"They should have just brought Olivia to the party," Andy protested. "We don't get to see her very often."

"I suggested that," Traci said, "but they thought it might get too rowdy for her. She's apparently going through a shy stage."

"The child of Frank Best and Noelle Williams - shy?" Sam asked. "How did that happen?"

"And what do they mean, rowdy?" demanded Andy. "When have we ever done anything that could possibly be considered rowdy?"

Traci laughed and Sam and Dan just shook their heads. "Practically every night at The Penny," Traci suggested.

"You don't come to The Penny very often, Dan – you should join us some time," Sam suggested. "It's not really about the drinking, it's more like it's a chance to decompress."

"I know that," Dan replied, "but I spend a lot of evenings with my brother and his kids. His wife died just a couple of months ago, cancer. He's doing the best he can but it's hard. There are three kids under 11, two girls and a boy, and I just go over to give him another grown-up to talk to."

"The kids are so sweet," Traci added. "I try to visit them once a week or so. It's good for the girls to have a woman around occasionally, although Dan's brother is amazing with them. He can even do a ballet bun for the nine-year-old!"

"The older boy is close to Leo's age, and they get along pretty well so we have him and my niece and nephews at my place sometimes," Dan said. "I didn't know a few kids could be so exhausting."

"Anyone need a refill?" Traci asked, picking up the bottle of wine.

"I'm good," Sam replied. "Me too," said Andy. "Just relax – you'll have enough hostessing to do when the others get here."

Just as she said that they heard voices and laughter in the hall, and Dan went to open the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dan opened the door to find Dov and Chloe, and Oliver and Celery, laughing and chattering in the hallway.

"What's going on– bomb scare?" asked Dov when he saw Bailey.

Dan laughed. "No, no, this is strictly a social call. Come on in"

"Really?" chimed in Chloe. Then, as Traci came to the door and Dan put his arm around her waist, Chloe looked back and forth from Traci to Dan. "Oh!" She turned to Dov with a big smile.

"Oh? Oh!" said Dov. "A _social_ call! Nice. Rock and roll, Nash!"

Traci looked a little embarrassed, but this was one of the reasons she had wanted to have this party, so she laughed and welcomed her guests as Dan began to collect their coats.

Oliver had been preoccupied with taking Celery's coat and handing Traci a bottle of wine. When he turned around to see Dan laden with coats and jackets he did a double-take, then smiled broadly. He looked over at Sam, still sitting on the couch with his arm around Andy, and raised his eyebrows. He looked back and forth from Traci to Dan, then back at Sam. Sam nodded, enjoying Oliver's reaction to this new and unexpected situation.

Chloe was clearly bursting with questions, but Dov took her hand firmly and led her into the living room. Chloe plopped herself down on the floor and opened her mouth to ask her question when there was a lot of noise from the hallway. Chris and Gail came in, clearly in the middle of a heated conversation. Gail barely acknowledged Traci, and didn't seem to notice Dan at all.

Oliver had retrieved the bottle of wine from Traci, and grabbing Chris by the elbow he headed into the kitchen so he could put it in the refrigerator.

"Thanks for rescuing me, man," Chris said quietly. "I don't know what's going on with Gail but she's been acting like a scalded cat all the way here."

Oliver frowned, but suddenly looked at Chris with dawning comprehension. "It could be something to do with Steve. I think Gail and Traci have tried to put it behind them, but Gail loves her brother, no matter what he did, and I think she really was happy about his relationship with Traci."

"I never thought of that," Chris said seriously. "It must be hard for both of them. And now with Bailey here – hey, did you know about that?"

"No," Oliver replied, "It's a big surprise. I'm glad for Nash though – she's had a pretty rough time with relationships, first losing Jerry, and then finding out about Steve. Bailey's a great guy, level-headed, responsible – he'll be good for Traci."

Chris looked back over his shoulder at Dan and Traci, still chatting with Celery and Gail, and said "I think you're right. Good for her."

"Gail didn't bring Frankie to the party? I thought those two were getting pretty close."

"Frankie went to visit her family in Calgary," Chris answered, "so Gail's been pretty lonely with her gone. And you know her, when she's feeling vulnerable she just picks fights. She's mad at me because I didn't drop her off at the door before parking half a block away and making her walk."

"Diaz, how could you be so cruel and so thoughtless?" Oliver asked with a snicker.

"Shaw, what are you doing over there?" Sam called from the living room. "Come on in here."

Oliver and Chris joined the others, and the next few minutes were occupied with finding seats for everyone and passing drinks.

It wasn't long before Sue arrived with one of the other ETF officers, and since they were holding hands it appeared that she had happily moved on after Dov. After shrugging off her jacket she looked over and gave Dov and Chloe a little wave.

"Watson, good to see you, man, a little more bomb squad representation," Dan exclaimed, shaking hands with the new arrival. "I think you know pretty well everybody here."

"I think so – Swarek, Shaw, how you doing? Happy holidays, Nash," the newcomer said. "Thanks for letting Sue bring me along."

"We're glad to have you," Traci said. "Let's go into the living room and we'll get you a drink."

She had just turned away from the door when the doorbell chimed again. Dan opened the door to greet Nick and Juliet. "Collins, defused any bombs lately?" he asked Nick, who shook his head and laughed. "Nope, all pretty quiet lately," he said. "Just chasing and arresting bad guys on the street."

"Glad to hear it," Dan replied. "Leave the explosive devices to us."

Traci excused herself and headed to the kitchen, where she pulled several dishes out of the refrigerator and a couple more from the oven. Andy and Chloe joined her, lifting lids and foil and inhaling deeply, exclaiming over the contents.

"My God, Traci, this looks amazing! What's this one?" asked Andy, handling the hot dish carefully with oven mitts.

"I'm not completely sure – Dan brought it. I think he said something about crab and artichokes. It smells fantastic, doesn't it? He brought the cold one Chloe's holding too – pretty sure that's a layered Mexican dip. It's worth keeping him around just for his culinary skills!" Tracy was pulling out boxes of chips and crackers as she spoke.

"And how are his other skills?" asked Chloe. "Worth keeping around for those too?"

"Inappropriate, Price!" exclaimed Traci.

"What? It's time you had a little side action going on. Or face-to-face action," Chloe said with a comical leer.

Andy and Traci looked at each other and shook their heads. As Dov said so often, sometimes she had to be allowed to talk it out. Traci glared at her, then started to laugh. "Chloe, don't pussyfoot around, why don't you just come right out and ask me what you want to know?"

"I thought I just did that, didn't I? I didn't mean to embarrass you, Trace," Chloe said without the slightest hint of remorse. "I think Bailey is really hot and you are really lucky! How long has this been going on?"

"I guess he first started showing some interest around the time of the explosions. He had a strange sense of what I might find appealing – he kept systematically demolishing my favourite fairy tales. How much do you know about them, before Disney got hold of them?"

"They were around before Disney?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, Chloe, you have so much to learn," Andy told her. "We have to get you a big book of fairy tales. They are just full of chopped-off body parts, agonizing pain, terrifying monsters both human and animal. You'll never sleep again,"

Just then Oliver interrupted the conversation. "I have been delegated to find out when exactly some of that great-smelling food is going to find its way to the party guests, ladies. So, when might that be happening – any time soon?"

"Yes, Oliver, I hear and obey," Traci said cheerfully. "Why don't you make yourself useful and take in these bowls of chips? And no taste-testing."

"Never," Oliver said solemnly as he headed back to the living room. "On its way," he announced to the group. "And I think it's safe to say that there will be belt-loosening and button-undoing before too long because there's just a ton of deliciousness out there."

Just as people were settling in to enjoy their food there was a knock at the door. When Traci opened it she saw Frank, Noelle, and little Olivia. "Look who's here!" she called, and a big cheer from the living room had Olivia burying her face in Frank's shoulder.

"See, this is exactly what I was talking about earlier! You can't act like hooligans when we have such a pretty little guest. Come here, honey, Aunt Traci will look after you."

Olivia leaned forward so Traci could take her from Frank's arms, and Traci whispered in her ear, "Do you want to go and say hi to all your other aunties and uncles from 15?"

Olivia lifted her little face to whisper back, and Traci gave her a little squeeze. "Good girl! Let's go see Uncle Ollie."

Oliver had jumped up as soon as the newcomers arrived, eager for a visit with his favourite little girl. As Traci came into the living room Olivia hurled herself towards him, nearly falling out of Traci's arms.

"Hey, hey there, little girl! You don't have to fly to me – I'm comin' to get you," cautioned Oliver. He took her from Traci and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You look so pretty tonight," Oliver said as he took a good look at her. She was wearing a cozy pink fluffy robe over a white nightie, and matching pink bunny slippers.

"We thought after she's finished saying hello to everyone we could tuck her into Leo's bed – it's already past her bedtime," Noelle explained. "She really wanted to wear her Christmas party dress, but we managed to convince her that this was a better idea."

"You look beautiful, Olivia," Andy said as she came over to give her a kiss. Chloe and Celery had joined her and were oohing and aahing. "You sure do," exclaimed Chloe, while Celery kissed the sleepy child, smiling at Oliver who was so obviously delighted to be holding her.

He turned around and glared at Sam, Dov, Chris and Nick. "What's wrong with you guys?" he demanded. "How can you just sit there – and go on eating, I see – when we have such a special person here?"

"You're making enough fuss for all of us put together, Shaw," chuckled Sam. "We just thought we'd let you get it out of your system before we took our turn. Olivia, are you gonna come over here to see us too?"

Olivia struggled to get down, and when her bunny slippers touched the floor she went running to Sam who lifted her into his lap.

"I like your bunnies," said Dov. "Do they have names?"

"They not real bunnies, Uncle Dov! It would be silly to give names to my slippers."

"Of course it would," said Chris, "but you know how silly Uncle Dov is." He ruffled her curls as she sat on Sam's knee. "They are pretty cute slippers, Olivia."

"Thank you, Uncle Chris. Santa brought them for me."

"Good old Santa," said Nick. "He knew the right size and everything. Is pink your favourite colour?"

"Yes," Olivia began, but she suddenly gave a big yawn that was immediately noticed by her mother.

"Oliver, would you like to do the honours?" Noelle asked.

"Absolutely," he agreed. "Say goodnight to everybody, sweetie," he said, and carried her off to Leo's room.

"Isn't she adorable?" Andy asked, turning to Gail.

"I guess she is sorta cute," Gail admitted grudgingly. "But I like kids more when they're a bit older and more self-sufficient."

"Don't try to tell us you don't like little kids too – I remember the night when you were gushing about the baby you found in the park," Andy retorted, "Besides, she is growing up."

"Too fast," muttered Frank. "Next thing you know it'll be ballet lessons and kindergarten, and then she'll be dating."

"Always looking on the bright side, aren't you?" Noelle said as she patted his arm. "She'll be your little girl for a long, long time."

"I know. But she isn't our baby anymore," Frank said mournfully.

"I can tell you from personal experience, Frank," said Oliver as he rejoined the group, "she'll always be your baby, just like Izzy will always be my baby. Not that she appreciates it when I say that in front of her."

"Does everyone have a drink? Enough food? Can I get anybody anything?" Dan asked from the kitchen.

There seemed to be a consensus that all the guests were adequately supplied, so Traci picked up Sam's guitar from the corner where he had put it when he first arrived. "Sam, would you like to demonstrate your Christmas present?" she asked.

"Do you think people really want to be distracted from their eating and drinking?" Sam asked with a grin.

"Absolutely," Traci replied. "I think we'd all love some entertainment."

Sam took the guitar out of its case and played a few random chords. "Any requests?"

"Stairway to Heaven," called Oliver.

"A classic," Sam noted, and he began to play softly as everyone settled back into their seats, or got comfortable on the floor. When the song ended Sam held out the guitar to Chris. "Your turn, Diaz, so I can finish my drink."

Chris took the guitar and started in on a medley of country songs that elicited applause from most, and boos from Oliver. Celery whacked him gently, and he subsided into silence after muttering that he was too cool for country music.

Chris handed the guitar back to Sam who began to play a tune with a Spanish sound. After a while Traci whispered something into Sam's ear, and he switched to the Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On".

"Come on, Gail, time for your contribution to this party," Traci said, and she was immediately backed up by Chris, Dov and Nick all chanting Gail's name.

"Oh all right," Gail said snarkily, but when she began to sing she really gave it her all. This side of Gail Peck wasn't seen very often, and her colleagues' reaction was very enthusiastic.

Suddenly Chloe gave a little shriek. "Look at the time! It's almost midnight! We don't want to miss the New Year."

"Good call, Chloe," said Dov approvingly. "Everybody find somebody to kiss."

"Right," Gail pouted. "You guys get all kissy-face while I just sit over here all alone."

Chris held out his hand. "Come on, Gail, how about a quick kiss between friends to welcome the New Year? No hidden agenda. "

Gail looked at him to see if he was mocking her, but realized that Chris would never be like that. She got up from her chair and Chris put his arm around her shoulder.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two..." went the countdown, ending in the noise of car horns and banging pots and pans from outside, as all the couples – and Gail and Chris – exchanged kisses.

"Quick, come over here," Traci urged as she opened the balcony doors. "We should be able to see a fireworks display from here."

She had hardly finished her sentence when the first bursts of colour filled the sky.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The fireworks display ended with a cascade of light drifting down until the sky was empty.

"That was a great show," gushed Chloe. "It was," Dov agreed.

"It was OK," acknowledged Bailey as the display came to an end. "But we could put on a better fireworks display than that, couldn't we, Sue? Whaddya think, Watson?"

"Absolutely," said Sue. "For sure," agreed Watson.

"I'll tell you what we should do," Oliver exclaimed, "We'll all go to our cabin for Canada Day and you guys can do a big fireworks show there!"

"That's a great idea," Celery agreed. "We would love to have a summer party at the cabin, and July 1st would be perfect."

"I'll have to check my calendar," Gail muttered. "I may not be available."

Dov snickered, while Chris just looked at her and shook his head. "Gail, if you can't get a date you can come with me."

"If I wanted a date I would have one, thank you very much," she snapped. "I don't need you to rescue me, Mr. Boy Scout."

"Frank, we should think about heading home," said Noelle as they turned away from the balcony door.

"Really?" Traci asked. "Olivia is sleeping so peacefully – you guys can stay longer, can't you?"

"That's the point, Nash," retorted Frank. " _She_ is sleeping peacefully – which means she will be ready for breakfast and a trip to the zoo about 7:00 a.m. I, on the other hand, will not."

Noelle laughed ruefully. "It's true," she sighed, "That child is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at the crack of dawn, and Frank and I are neither of those things. We definitely need to get enough sleep so we can keep up with her."

"Do you want me to go and get her?" Oliver asked.

"That's OK," Frank said. "I have to go in there to get our coats anyway. I'll bring her out."

"Wait a minute," said Traci. "I have an idea – why don't you just let her sleep where she is? You guys go home and sleep for a few hours, and either you can come and get her or we'll bring her to you."

"That's a very sweet offer," replied Frank, "but it wouldn't work out this time, I'm afraid. She hasn't slept away from us yet, so she might be confused or scared when she woke up. Also, you couldn't bring her to us because you don't have a car seat."

"Right," Traci agreed. "It's been a long time since Leo needed one of those, and I passed his along to a friend who was just about to have her baby. Well, consider it an open offer – any time you think she's ready, and you need a break, we'd love to have her."

"Thanks, Nash," said Noelle as she gave Traci a hug. "And thank you for a great party. Dan, if you are the one responsible for that crab-artichoke dip, I need that recipe!"

"Absolutely," Dan said. "Give me your e-mail address and I'll send it to you."

Frank reappeared with Olivia in his arms, still sound asleep. "Goodnight, everyone," he whispered, "and Happy New Year." There was a hushed chorus of "Happy New Year" as Frank and Noelle went out the door.

"Now, who's ready for another drink?" asked Dan.

"Let us help," offered Nick as he joined Dan in the kitchen. "Do you want people's glasses here, or do you want to refill them in there?"

"Probably easier if we go to them – eliminates the possibility of mixing them up."

Juliet had joined them, so the next few minutes were occupied with making sure everyone had their drinks refreshed. Then she and Nick went back and sat down on the floor.

"We've just had a pretty eventful year," observed Nick. "What do you think is in store for us in this one?"

"I personally am hoping for a very boring year," Dan observed.

"I'll second that," added Sue. "Dov, do you think you could refrain from stepping on any IED booby traps, or entering gas-filled houses this year?"

"I'll do my best," Dov agreed.

Sam had picked up his guitar and was idly strumming some random chords, then began to sing softly.

"Is that Spanish?" asked Oliver.

"Si," responded Sam, as he continued to play.

"How is it that you speak Spanish, Sam?" asked Juliet. "Swarek doesn't sound very Latino."

"It's a pretty long story," Sam replied, setting the guitar aside. "My _abuelo_ – my grandfather – was an assistant coach to the Cuban baseball team that came to a tournament in Saskatoon in 1953. He defected, and became a Canadian citizen, and married a Saskatoon girl. They had a baby girl – my mother – and he used to talk to her and sing to her in Spanish, so she grew up fluently bilingual. She used to speak Spanish to us, and both Sarah and I are pretty fluent too. I think I liked it because my dad couldn't speak it. He hated it if we spoke it to each other because he couldn't understand us."

"Just another facet of the mysterious Sam Swarek," Oliver quipped. "Always a story."

Andy had been sitting quietly, listening to Sam's singing and then to his story. There were still parts of him that she had yet to learn. She remembered the visit to Millburn when Sam had told Jay that his mother was somewhere warm – maybe he meant she had gone to Cuba for a visit. She could wait until later.

Gail stood up abruptly. "Time to go," she announced. "Diaz, you are planning to go get your car and bring it here, aren't you?" Her tone of voice made it pretty clear that if that had not been his intention, it better be now.

"Of course, Gail – I would never put you through the torture of walking half a block twice in one night."

"I should hope not," she snapped, as Oliver made sympathetic noises and mimed playing a tiny violin.

"We should be leaving too, Dov," said Chloe. "Traci, this was so great. Next party will be at our place."

"It will?" asked Dov, looking slightly startled. "Our place? Do we have a place?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I've been looking at a great little fixer-upper that I thought would be perfect for us. It doesn't need much work at all, and I thought it would be so much fun to do it ourselves." Chloe was beaming, delighted to have surprised Dov.

Dov said nothing, but everyone watched with interest as various expressions crossed his face. "You do know that I have little to no experience in doing it myself? "

"Oh, I know," Chloe assured him, "but think how much fun it will be to learn it all together. And I'm sure these guys would be willing to help, right?"

The girls watched their "guys" as they stared first at Chloe, then at each other.

"Price," Sam said, "as I told Oliver when he bought his cabin, places like that need work, and it's work I don't want to do."

Undaunted, Chloe kept smiling. "But there were just the four of you, and this would be like a big, um, house renovation bee! Like a quilting bee or a barn-raising, with many hands making light work."

"Epstein," Oliver interjected, "we will discuss this further. Just not tonight. Celery and I need to get going too. Somehow my girls have decided that skating at Nathan Phillips Square would be the perfect way for us to start the New Year."

Before long everyone was gone, leaving Sam and Andy to enjoy a little wrap-up with Traci and Dan. Andy wasn't sitting with them, though – she was clanking around in the kitchen.

"What are you doing out there?" Traci called over her shoulder.

"I'm just gonna wash these glasses," Andy replied, turning on the faucet.

"No you are not," Traci said firmly. "I now have a dishwasher, which will handle all the party mess in no time. Just come back in here and sit down."

"I still think there is something I should be doing," Andy muttered.

"And that is the story of my life," Sam said with a grin as he headed for the kitchen, dried Andy's hands with the nearest dishtowel, and led her back to the living room.

They settled together on one of the couches, and Dan brought a bottle of wine over to refill their glasses. "One more toast to the New Year," he said, sitting down beside Traci and putting his arm around her. "Good friends, good times."

Sam, Traci and Andy raised their glasses and drank to the future.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Laughing and reminiscing, the two couples spent an hour or so talking and winding down. Each of them had at least one story about themselves that the other three didn`t know about, or about one of the others that might have been better left untold. Traci relaxed, happy that the party had been successful, and that Dan Bailey was not only solid and reliable, but also fun – she could tell that their friends, who had known him only in the context of work, had welcomed him into their somewhat tightly-knit social group.

At last Sam stretched his arms above his head and yawned. "Sorry to be so rude, Traci," he apologized. "It must be the wine. And speaking of wine, I'm gonna call a cab, Andy. I'm pretty sure neither one of should drive home. OK if we leave the truck parked here?"

"Sure," replied Traci. "Our street doesn't have any overnight parking restrictions."

"I'd offer to drive you home myself," interjected Dan, "but I'd be no safer."

"Not a problem," Sam laughed. "I should have told Andy ahead of time that she had to be the designated driver."

"Why me, huh? Why wouldn't it be you?" Andy retorted crossly, then started laughing at the startled faces of her friends. "Oops, I guess I'm a little tireder than I thought – didn't mean to snap at you," she said sweetly, kissing Sam's cheek.

"I'll just go grab your coats," Dan said, heading down the hall.

"I meant to tell you before," Traci said to Andy. "I was so happy to see that you're wearing your sweater – it looks great on you!"

"I just love it," Andy replied, running her hand over the soft cashmere. "Thank you again for such a wonderful gift."

Dan returned with the coats and as they put them on and were saying their goodbyes, they heard the sound of the cab's horn. "Goodnight, folks," Sam said, hugging Traci and shaking Dan's hand.

"Yes, thank you – it was a great party," added Andy as they headed out the door. They climbed into the cab and after giving the driver their address Sam settled back with his arm around Andy. She laid her head on his shoulder and snuggled close to him. Sam kissed the top of her head, and then with his other hand he tipped her chin up so he could kiss her properly. What started as just a gentle peck suddenly seemed to ignite, as Andy parted her lips and softly pressed her tongue into his mouth to touch his own. Sam quickly checked that the driver was paying attention to the road, and curled his fingers into Andy's hair, pressing her even closer. The kiss went on and on, and he could just barely hear the tiny little noises she was making. His hand dropped from her hair to the front of her coat, slipping inside and stroking her breast.

"I really like this sweater too," he murmured into her ear. "So soft, so warm. It feels really good."

"It does feel good," Andy whispered. She shifted herself on the seat, her knees parting slightly. Sam couldn't pass up that opportunity, so he removed his hand from inside Andy's coat to lay it on her knee. "The skirt feels pretty good too," he said, stroking back and forth across her suede-covered leg. Andy wriggled again and spread her knees a little more. Sam slid his fingers under her skirt to stroke the softness of her inner thigh, slowly moving further up, already feeling the heat between her legs. He moved her thong aside and slid one finger inside her.

"You're so wet, sweetheart," he breathed, adding a second finger and rubbing with his thumb, knowing he had found just the right spot when he felt her trembling beside him. He pressed his whole hand against her, harder, then lighter, knowing that she was hovering on the brink of her climax.

"We're here, folks," called the cab driver.

Sam cleared his throat. "Thank you, and Happy New Year. Keep the change," he said as he passed a couple of bills over the back of the front seat. "Everything OK?" he asked Andy, whose face wore an expression of disbelief. "Here, let me help you out." He leaned back into the car and took her hand.

"You'd _better_ help me out," she hissed quietly. "Really, right at that exact moment? Come on, man!"

Sam tried to keep his face expressionless. "Don't slip – it's icy here," he warned as he helped her across the sidewalk. Andy avoided the ice and shivered. "Let's get inside," she urged.

"In a hurry, are you?" Sam inquired.

"Yes, I am in a hurry. I'm freezing!"

Sam opened the door and stood back to let her precede him. As he came through the door and turned back to lock the deadbolt, Andy grabbed his hand and pulled him close.

"Something you need?"

"You know damn well what I need. Come on, Sam, please!"

"Just a second," Sam said, bending down to untie his boots. "I don't want to track in slush all over the floor."

Andy had already kicked her boots off and dropped her coat. She radiated a mixture of eagerness and frustration, practically hopping from one foot to the other. Sam picked up her coat and hung it up next to his.

"OK, you want anything in the kitchen?"

"Kitchen, living room, on the stairs, I don't care. Sam!"

He could almost see her quivering. Relenting, he grabbed her up in his arms and headed for the bedroom. Setting her down on the bed he started to unbutton his shirt. Andy reached for his hand and tugged. "Leave it!" she implored. "Please, just come down here and..."

She was interrupted as Sam pulled her up again and kissed her thoroughly. He hiked her skirt up to her waist, unbuckled his belt and unbuttoned his jeans, and pushed her down on the bed again. In almost a single motion he lay down beside her, rolled over on top of her, and reached down to move the thong aside again and push himself into her.

Andy gasped once, wrapping her arms around him and pressing down on his lower back to get him as close as possible. She thrust up with her hips, rocking against him, and pulled his face down to merge her mouth with his in a passionate kiss. Sam caught her rhythm and pounded himself into her, knowing she was only seconds away from coming. He could feel the tension building, her muscles contracting around him, and then she was there, panting softly and making little whimpering sounds. He brought one hand up to caress her face as they lay still joined together and her body relaxed beneath him.

"Oh, Sam," Andy sighed, nuzzling her face into his neck. "I'm sorry to jump you like that but oh, my God, to get so close in the cab and then suddenly be interrupted – it was as if he had thrown a bucket of ice water over us!"

Sam chuckled a little. "You never have to apologize for being eager to get me into bed with you," he protested. "I do like to feel that I'm serving a useful purpose, you know."

"Oh, yes, you are nothing if not useful. Now, as much as I hate to move, my skirt is all bunched up underneath me and my stupid thong is twisted in a strange and very uncomfortable way. Could we get up for just a minute, get out of these clothes, maybe brush our teeth and then get back to what we were doing?"

"An excellent plan," said Sam.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Andy stretched and yawned, but kept her eyes squinched tightly shut against the pale winter sunlight streaming through the window. _Could you not just leave the blinds closed just once?_ she thought with a certain amount of irritation. Prying one bleary eye she checked the time. _Four hours_ , she whimpered internally. _I've only had four hours sleep!_

She gradually realized that she could smell coffee – and bacon. There might actually be a valid reason for getting out of bed. Andy just needed to think about that for a bit; the appetizing aromas might help in the decision-making process. She stretched again, feeling just the slightest bit sore between her legs and smiling as she remembered the very enthusiastic way that she and Sam had celebrated the New Year when they got home from Traci's party. _We took a cab home,_ she thought suddenly, and she could feel herself flushing at the memory of attacking Sam as they came in their door. _I must have had a little bit more wine than I thought_ , she realized.

She was just about to swing her legs over the side of the bed, the first step in actually getting up, when Sam arrived with a tray bearing two mugs of coffee, a big glass of orange juice, a plate heaped with pancakes and bacon, and two forks. "There wasn't enough room for two plates," he said cheerfully, "so I thought we'd share one big breakfast."

"As long as I don't have to share my coffee," Andy said with a smile. "You are the best husband ever."

"I seem to remember hearing that a couple of times last night – or this morning, I guess it was," Sam replied with just a hint of smugness. He set the tray down on the nightstand and leaned in to give her a kiss.

"Just hang on one second," Andy said hurriedly. "Just let me go to the bathroom and brush my teeth and I'll be right back."

"Okey-doke, but I'm going to start in on these pancakes so you'd better hurry."

"Hurrying," she tossed back over her shoulder. Sam grinned appreciatively at the sight of her bare backside disappearing into the bathroom. He looked forward to her return with even more appreciation.

He was finishing his third pancake when Andy came back, face scrubbed clean and hair brushed loose over her shoulders, the way he liked it best. It was so convenient to grab a handful on either side of her face and pull her in close. Unfortunately she was already wearing one of his t-shirts that covered her to the top of her thighs. Andy smiled and gave him a very warm and loving, but decidedly _un_ -passionate kiss.

"I'm starving – can't figure out why I'm so hungry this morning."

"Could it be the late night workout? There was a fair bit of pretty strenuous activity going on," Sam suggested with a flash of dimples.

"Could be," Andy agreed, "but whatever the reason, I'm hun- _gry_. Don't eat all the pancakes before I even get started, please? I just need to inhale this delicious, hot wonderful coffee. And fixed just the way I like it."

"You know, that was one of the very first things I learned about you – after getting a first-hand introduction to your determination and tackling skills. I learned about your coffee preferences, and your insistence on doing things all on your own, and your willingness to learn. A lot of good qualities to offset your not-so-good ones."

"Bad qualities? What bad qualities are you talking about?" Andy demanded in a tone that wasn't as sharp as it might have been if her mouth hadn't been full of bacon.

"Ah, let's see – jumping to conclusions would be one, the way you just did. I very pointedly avoided using the word _bad_ because you are so critical of yourself that I didn't want to give you any ammunition. Second-guessing yourself, and even after all this time still sometimes failing to trust your gut feelings, that kind of thing. Since I am now in a position where I can be your lifelong training officer…"

Andy choked and spluttered until Sam whacked her on the back, perhaps a couple of times more than necessary. He still enjoyed provoking her spitfire reactions, purely for their entertainment value. He leaned forward and brushed a few bits of crumbled bacon off the front of her shirt.

"Is that how you look at this? I thought we had a true _partner_ ship, not a high-and-mighty know-it-all and lowly know-nothing situation." Andy was still coughing a little and Sam handed her the juice and patted her back some more.

"Sweetheart, you just make it too easy – I can't resist teasing you because it's so much fun to see you all puffed up with indignation. You know that is most definitely not how I see us. Do you remember what I said to you the night of the takedown? I told you there was nobody I would rather go through that door with. True then, true now. You are my partner in every sense of the word." Sam wrapped one arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Well alright then," Andy muttered, and picked up her fork to have another bite of pancake. "What did you want to do today?"

"Well..." Sam began but he was quickly interrupted.

"Other than spend the day in bed, which I do understand is always your first choice but it looks really nice out and maybe we should do something physical."

"Exactly!" Sam said happily. "We are on the same page."

"Outdoors physical. Didn't Oliver say something last night about skating at Nathan Phillips Square? Maybe we could surprise him and the girls – do you think Celery is the skating type?"

"I try not to speculate on what Celery might get up to – I like her a lot but you know, a witch. But yeah. Skating might actually be fun. I have my old skates somewhere around here; do you have some?"

"I do," Andy replied. "I was on the skating cheerleading squad for our high school hockey team." She watched Sam's eyes glaze over just a little as he seemed to be imagining Andy on skates wearing a cheerleader's outfit.

"Alright then, Miss I-hate-the-cold, let's get this show on the road. Dress in layers – you'll get warm in a hurry trying to keep up with me."

After dressing – in layers – Andy and Sam headed out to the truck. Andy had offered to pack sandwiches but Sam thought it would be more fun to get something from one of the food vendors whose trucks were parked as close to the Square as they could get. They laced up their skates and started gliding around the outer edge at a leisurely pace, keeping a lookout for any of the Shaw family.

"There's Oliver," Andy pointed out. Oliver was skating holding hands with his two younger daughters, while Izzy and Celery were chatting amiably just ahead of them. Sam and Andy increased speed a little until they caught up to the Shaws, splitting up so Sam could grab the little girls' hands away from their dad, while Andy stuck her arm through Oliver's. "Shall we ice-dance?" she asked playfully as Oliver stumbled over his skates.

"Hi, guys!" he exclaimed as he steadied himself. "Izz! Celery! Look who showed up for a nice New Year's Day skate!"

Celery and Izzy looked back and welcomed the new arrivals. "What a great surprise," Celery said with a smile.

"Your powers didn't tell you we were coming?" Sam asked teasingly.

"You know it doesn't work that way. Just be respectful or I'll hex your skates," Celery shot back.

"Uncle Sammy!" squealed Izzy as she nearly knocked Sam over with her enthusiastic greeting.

"Careful there, Izz – you'll topple your sisters over," warned Sam good-naturedly.

"Oh, they've been skating since they could walk," Izzy replied. "I don't think you could knock them over if you tried."

"Yeah, Uncle Sammy," little Maggie said seriously. "We play hockey so we are really good skaters."

"Hockey, not figure skating?" asked Sam, with a sideways glance at Oliver, who grimaced at the thought.

"No, we don't want to be all frilly and sparkly like figure skaters – we want to play hockey like Dad," chimed in Molly.

"I hope you play better than that!" Sam responded, and was immediately body-checked by an indignant Oliver.

"None of that," he said sternly. "I'll have you know I was MVP in three of our playoff games last season."

"Sam, why haven't we ever gone to watch one of Oliver's games?" Andy asked curiously.

"Oh no, McNally – I mean McNally-Swarek – you don't want to come to any of our games. The hockey is pretty bad and the language is worse. Especially from those cheaters from 27. They sure hate to lose to us."

"He's right – those games aren't exactly elite league. But the games I'd like to watch are the ones you guys are playing," Sam said to the younger girls. "I bet they're pretty exciting. What positions do you play?"

"Right wing," replied Maggie, and Molly piped in, "Defence!"

"Well, I think we will definitely plan to come to one of your games," Andy said with a smile. "You don't play hockey, Sam?"

"Not since I was about 12 – it got hard to make practices and games on time. No, baseball's my game."

"Plays third base for us every year in the community game – well, except for last year when he bailed on me for some reason," complained Oliver.

"Quit your whining – I had a very valid excuse. There was something very important I had to take care of that weekend."

Andy smiled and looked down at her hand, the engagement ring sparkling in the winter sun. "We'll both play for you this year," she promised, and Oliver's grumbles faded into silence.

"I'm starving," Celery said suddenly. "Do you think any of those food carts have vegan, organic, non-GMO things?"

Oliver looked at her in dismay. "I'm guessing it's unlikely," he began but Izzy interrupted.

"Dad, Healthy Is Us has a truck here and they have all kinds of great items. Gluten-free too, if someone can't tolerate wheat. Celery, I'll come with you and order there, while these meat-eaters can stuff themselves with hot dogs or hamburgers or whatever. We can meet up at the benches on the east side."

"Great," enthused Andy. "Skating gives me a huge appetite."

Taking the hands of the little girls, she started skating towards the truck from which the most enticing aroma of fried onions was wafting towards them. "I don't care much what I have," she called back to Sam and Oliver. I just want whatever it is smothered in those onions!"

The three girls skated ahead, the men following a little more slowly.

"Do you remember what I asked you at Frank and Noelle's wedding, pal?" asked Oliver.

"Ummm, let me think. It's been a while, and you're always asking me questions."

"I bumped into you at the bar and drank your drink."

"Right," Sam recalled. "I was on my own, kinda waiting to see Andy, and you asked me if I was happy."

"You said 'I'm trying,'" as I recall," said Oliver. "No need for "trying" these days, huh?"

Sam grinned, turning to look at his friend. "I really didn't know that I could be this happy," he confessed. "It's – how can I describe it? – just being, ah, complete, you know? Like everything fits, makes sense. Not that it's perfect, of course – you may find this hard to believe, but we actually have the occasional spat."

"What?" Oliver gasped.

"It's true, we do. Once in a while she lets me win one."

"Oh, she's a keeper, that girl," smiled Oliver.

"She is. And I will," replied Sam.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sam and Andy enjoyed the rest of their week off, going out for dinner (once), going to a movie (once), and spending time (a lot of time) in bed. To be accurate, it wasn't _all_ in bed – there were a couple of times on the couch in front of the TV, and several more in the shower.

Following one of these romantic interludes Andy lay beside Sam, her breathing gradually returning to a normal rate, when she suddenly gave for a huge sigh. Sam, who had been drifting in a relaxed state somewhere between post-coital satisfaction and sleep, turned to look at her with a quizzical expression.

"What's up, McNally? Something bothering you?"

"Just thinking about the future," said Andy slowly.

"What about the future? Please tell me you're not borrowing trouble again." Sam frowned a little as he remembered a few times in the past when Andy seemed unable to enjoy the present without an anxious look ahead. "You think we're too different" and "...if things go south with us..." were a couple of prime examples. "Andy, we're _married_ ," he exclaimed. "I don't see how much more committed either one of us could be to our relationship."

"What? Oh, no! Not that part of the future!" Andy lifted herself up on one elbow to look into Sam's eyes. "Not at all! I was thinking about whether we should stay here or get a house in the suburbs, and if we did that would we need a second car. I've also been asking myself if I should make some effort towards a promotion, either to detective or maybe taking the sergeant's exam." She leaned down to rest her forehead against Sam's, her free hand curving around to rub the back of his neck. "How could you even think I'd have any doubts about _us_? I think our relationship is stronger than it ever has been, and I plan to do everything in my power to make sure it stays that way."

"OK then, we're good," Sam confirmed. Suddenly something came into sharper focus. "The suburbs? You want to move us out to the suburbs? What brought that on?"

"I don't know," Andy shrugged. "Maybe we'll need more room, and a fenced-in yard."

"McNally? Is there something you want to tell me?" Sam cocked his head and looked intently at her face, then down her body.

"What? Oh, no," she protested. "No, not that – I mean, not yet. But I've been thinking about that too. You said you wanted more babies, our babies. Do you still feel that way? I thought maybe now we have a reasonably settled routine with Marlo, sharing custody of Claudia, you might want to postpone any drastic changes."

"Andy, I meant what I said. I've been waiting to let you bring the subject up – you've been so amazing with her. Just like you promised, she absolutely knows that you love her, and want her in our lives. I didn't want to put any pressure on you. It would be a big change, and I'm happy with you just the way things are."

"So you're saying that you _don't_ want to start trying?" Andy asked quietly. "It would be too much?"

"Hang on a second," Sam said firmly, shoving a couple of pillows behind his back and gathering Andy into his arms. "Don't put words in my mouth – or thoughts in my head. I want to add to the family that we have now, the family that you've made possible, and I'm so grateful to you for that. I _do_ want our babies, whenever you're ready. That decision will have the greatest impact on you, and I'll never put pressure on you; I want you to be sure you're ready. When you think that time has come, just let me know. I can't think of many things I'd enjoy more than trying to make a baby with you."

Andy looked into Sam's eyes, as if searching for the slightest doubt, and smiled happily as she recognized his complete sincerity. "I'm thinking that time is getting pretty close," she confessed. "You know how much I love Claudia, but I'm sure that we have enough love to expand our family."

"We do," Sam agreed, pulling Andy even closer, stroking her arm with his free hand. He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled against his side. "Hey, you wanna get started now?"

"We should at least practise," Andy giggled, lifting her face to his. Sam wasted no time, claiming her lips in a kiss that brought an end to the giggle and flared quickly into passion. He rolled onto his back, bringing Andy with him, one hand caressing her face while the other stroked her bare back, loving the silky smoothness of her skin under his fingertips. He began at the nape of her neck, moving over her shoulder blades and down the indentation of her spine. Andy quivered under his touch, infusing her kiss with even more intensity. Still holding her close against him Sam rolled them over again, lifting himself away from her just a little so he could look down at her, her face flushed, lips parted, eyes impossibly dark.

"Andy," he began, then paused for a moment, swallowing hard. "Andy," he repeated, his voice husky, "you are – we are – everything I ever hoped for and never believed that I could have. I can hardly imagine being any happier than I am right this moment, but I know that there is so much more ahead of us."

"There is." Andy murmured, "Let's see if I can make you just a little happier right now." She ran her hands across his back, exerting just the slightest pressure with her fingernails. Sam shuddered under her touch, bringing one hand to cup her breast. "No, wait just a minute," she whispered into his ear, nipping at the lobe, sucking on it. "Just let me."

Sam lay perfectly still as Andy's hands continued to travel up and down his back, gradually moving lower and tracing along each rib, firmly enough to avoid tickling him. She watched his face closely, wanting to be sure that this was pleasurable for him, not annoying. His eyes were closed and his body was relaxed, evidence of his complete trust in her.

Andy shifted underneath his weight, raising her hips slightly, widening the space between her thighs. She slid one hand between their bodies and grasped his penis. "Mmmmm," she breathed appreciatively, and moved her hand a little farther until she could feel the wet heat of her own arousal. Bringing her now-slick fingers back to wrap around him again she slid them over the head and down the shaft. Sam groaned and opened his eyes. "Not sure I can lie still much longer," he warned, and he began to move against the pressure of her hand.

"That's okay," Andy said softly. "You can move now if you want to."

Sam raised his eyebrows, wordlessly conveying the fact that yes, he did want to. He needed no guiding hand to achieve his destination, entering her easily and thrusting as deeply as he could. Andy's hips matched the rhythm he set, lifting to meet his. She gave herself up to the urgency they shared - the teasing sensation of delaying the inevitable swept away by the overwhelming need for completion.

As her heart rate returned to normal and her breathing slowed, Andy heaved another big sigh. "What's that all about?" Sam queried, kissing the top of her head as she lay with her face tucked into his shoulder. "Anything wrong?"

Andy lifted her head to look at him. "Don't fish for compliments," she said with mock severity. "You know perfectly well that nothing is wrong. Everything is perfect, and you just want me to tell you that so you can think how amazing you are."

"Not true!" Sam protested. "Not that I'm _not_ amazing, but what I'm really thinking about is how amazing we are together."

"Yes, we are," Andy agreed. She lay still for a moment, and then with a sudden burst of energy sat up and announced, "I'm starving. Have we got anything to eat or should we order something?"

"There are a couple of salmon steaks we could barbecue, with a nice salad and maybe some rice," Sam said thoughtfully. "That wouldn't take very long – or are you going to collapse from hunger if I don't feed you immediately?"

"No, that sounds really good. And there's actually some cooked rice in the freezer that I can just heat up while you're grilling the salmon. Have we got any lemons? I like a little squeeze of lemon juice on my salmon."

"Pretty sure there's at least one," Sam responded. "Do you want me to make the salad?"

"No, I can do that. Let's go, Mr. McNally, I need food."

"Is this how you're gonna be when I get you pregnant? Bossy and demanding and constantly hungry?"

"Probably – why should anything change?" Andy tossed back over her shoulder as she left the bedroom, pulling one of Sam's t-shirts on as she went.

 _Don't change a thing_ , Sam thought to himself. _You're just fine the way you are_.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As much as Andy and Sam had enjoyed their time off, they both agreed that getting back to work was actually something to look forward to. No matter how many times they might complain about an assignment, or a shift, or some dumb criminal they had had to deal with, they absolutely loved their jobs. On the street or in the Ds' office, they knew that they were making a difference.

Staff Sergeant Shaw stood at the front of the room, arms folded across his chest, silent and impassive. In front of him the officers and detectives of 15 were chattering and laughing as they caught up on everyone's doings over the holidays. Andy happened to glance towards him and hurriedly began nudging the people closest to her, indicating their boss with a nod of her head in his direction. Gradually silence spread throughout the room as more and more people realized that perhaps it was time to pay attention to their actual working day.

"Thank you!" Oliver exclaimed with exaggerated politeness. "So good of you to allow me to interrupt your socializing with a few paltry details about serving and protecting the citizens of Toronto. I'll just take a moment of your time and then you can go back to whatever it is that is so much more important than that."

"Sorry, Staff Sergeant," called Chris, always the first to attempt to avert confrontation. "We're all ears. What do you have for us this morning?"

"Well, thank you, Diaz. I do have just a couple of things to tell you about. There has been an upsurge in vandalism in a couple of neighbourhoods, and we're going to put an end to it. Or at least to this particular spree. On one block alone, people came out this morning to find their driver's-side window smashed. How many people, you may be wondering? Seven! Seven nice, late-model cars, parked in front of their owners' nice homes in a nice neighbourhood, apparently an irresistible target for some bozo walking by carrying a hockey stick or other blunt instrument. That is _not_ nice. It's pointless, it costs people money, it ties up my officers while they try to catch Bozo. Actually, people, there may be several bozos at work here because the same thing happened two blocks over, and another two blocks over from that. All at approximately the same time, if the ear-witness testimony is to be believed. Several people heard "something…" Oliver framed the word with air quotes. "They dismissed the "something" as raccoons trying to break into garbage cans. I think we can safely dismiss that particular theory, so we have to do something to catch the perps, who most likely are human beings. So get out there, canvass, check on security cameras – you know the drill."

As Andy checked the board for her assigned partner, Chris loomed up behind her. "Oh great!" he enthused, "We're riding together today!"

Andy smiled to herself. Chris still had the boyish enthusiasm he had shown as a fresh-faced rookie when they first arrived at 15. She enjoyed being partnered with him; one thing she never had to worry about with Diaz was that there would be any colouring outside the lines. He was a straight, hard-working cop (if you discounted the few times he had gone a little over those lines, like his substance-abuse problem, and hooking up with Jarvis's wife). Andy shook her head at the memory of _that_ awkward situation, which was made worse when Jarvis left his wife, putting Chris in the difficult position of having to explain to this high-strung, unpredictable woman that what had been fun and exciting as a secret relationship was not exactly what he was looking for in the long term. Let's just say that Jamie hadn't taken it very well. But the dust seemed to have settled and Chris was enjoying his single status.

As they turned to head for the parking lot Andy's eye was caught by the sight of a young officer who looked familiar, but she couldn't quite place him. "Who's that?" she whispered to Chris, who turned to look.

"I dunno – no, wait, I do know. That's Pete Sun."

"Who?" Andy demanded, and then was flooded with memories as she placed him. "I remember! He arrived at 15 when Jamie Brennan abducted and tortured Sam. In fact he was the one who made the connection between Brennan and his wife's property. He's a pretty smart guy. And he waited with me in the squad car while they searched the house."

"Right," Chris agreed. "I talked to him after he got sent to 27 and he said he was actually pretty disappointed – he said 15 looked like a pretty exciting place to work."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that was exciting," Andy scoffed, "Having one of our own nearly killed by a psychopath."

"We should take a minute to say hi," Chris suggested, and he and Andy walked over to Pete, who was looking almost as lost and out of place as he had the first time he had been there. His face lit up as he saw them.

"Hey guys! It's good to see you! I just got transferred over here and I'm looking forward to working with you all again. Hopefully on something a little less dramatic than last time."

Andy nodded. "Practically anything we do here will be less 'exciting' than that particular case," she said ruefully.

"How is Officer – Swarek, was it?"

"He's great – he's actually a detective now," Andy responded.

"And are you and he..." Pete's voice trailed off a little as he realized he was asking a pretty personal question.

"We are." Andy smiled reassuringly at Pete. "We are, in fact, married."

"No way! That's excellent!" Pete grinned at her. "After all that happened it would have been kind of an anticlimax if you guys had broken up."

Chris snorted at that. "Broken up? McNally and Swarek? Nah! Smooth sailing all the way."

"Shut up, Chris." Andy glared at her partner. "Never mind, Pete, it's a long story and I will fill you in on all the details some time. Do you know who you're riding with today?"

"No, I just got here a few minutes ago. I had to wait at 27 for some final paperwork on the transfer. I guess I should go and report to Staff Sergeant Best."

"Shaw," Chris corrected him. "Best left, and Oliver Shaw is the Staff Sergeant now."

"OK, good to know – they could have mentioned that before they sent me over here. I'll see you guys later."

"For sure," Chris agreed.

"See ya later," Andy called back over her shoulder as they headed for the door.

"Where do you want to start?" she asked as they settled into the squad car and fastened their seatbelts.

"I thought we could check the street to see if anyone has a security camera that might have caught anything. "

"Me too," Andy responded, and they headed for the street Oliver had assigned to them. After a couple of hours of door-knocking, they resigned themselves to the fact that there wasn't going to be any surveillance footage.

"What do you want to do next?" Chris inquired showing no discernible frustration with their lack of progress.

"Well, we have to figure out a way to catch these guys in the act. Vandals aren't usually very scary when they get nabbed," Andy suggested. "If we get one, he – or she; I guess it could be a girl – will roll over on his/her aiders and abetters."

"We could try bait cars," Chris suggested. "When I was back in Timmins the guys were talking about catching a tire-slasher by leaving a couple of unmarked cars parked in the area, with cops sitting inside with the seats reclined so they couldn't be seen. They just waited until the guy showed up and then jumped out of the car and grabbed him. I guess they scared the poop out of him – musta been pretty funny!"

"That's actually a pretty good idea," Andy chuckled. "Let's give Staff Sergeant Shaw a quick call and see what he thinks."

The next night there were three unmarked cars parked on streets near where the previous window-smashing incidents had taken place. There was also an unmarked van parked on a side street with Traci keeping tabs on everything, accompanied by Pete Sun.

Andy and Chris were in one car, Gail and Dov in another, and Chloe and Nick in the third. Consensus was that Andy and Chris had lucked out in the partner department: Nick sighed when he realized that while they tried to remain out of sight in their car, there would be nothing to do but listen to Chloe's stream-of-consciousness ramblings, and Dov simply made up his mind to tune out Gail's snarkiness as much as possible.

Not too long after midnight Pete noticed a group of what looked like teenagers strolling down the middle of the street. Several of them were carrying hockey sticks and a couple more had baseball bats. "This looks like our window-breakers," he whispered to Traci. She checked quickly and then picked up the radio.

"Heads up – no, keep 'em down! – 'cause I think our perps are just figuring out who takes which street. I'll let you as soon as they start moving out."

"Copy," came simultaneously from the three bait cars.

The radio crackled again, and Dov said quietly, "You all remembered to disable your dome light, I hope? We don't want to give them any advance warning when we open the doors."

"Yep," and "Of course," came back the responses.

The kids milled around for a while and then broke off into smaller groups, heading for two of the three streets where the bait cars were parked. The third group went in the opposite direction, and Pete watched carefully to see which corner they would turn. Once they rounded the corner he spoke into the radio. "Peck, Epstein, looks like you guys won't be seeing any action – they turned on Spruce instead."

"Great!" huffed Gail. "What a stupid waste of time _this_ has been!"

"Not necessarily," Traci countered. "If some of them make a break for it when the other teams start catching them in the act, you can roll out and intercept them."

Gail's face lit up as she contemplated the prospect. "Copy _that_!" she agreed. "We'll nab the little brats when they try to escape."

Chris and Andy had been lying back on the reclining seats, so Chris very carefully raised his head just enough to check outside. "Here they come..." he began, when they heard the first sound of breaking glass. The kids had started just two cars behind their parking spot, so Andy nudged Chris and gestured towards the door handle. "Let's go," she hissed and Chris nodded, carefully beginning to open his door. Andy got hers open just enough so she could ease her way out onto the street, still keeping down as low as she could. It was harder for Chris because of his height, but he managed somehow and crouched down beside the car. Another crash of breaking glass was the only prompt they needed, and they both stood up, weapons drawn, and yelled, "Police! Get down on your knees!"

The group of kids started to scatter in all directions, but as soon as they had yelled the warning Chris had moved down the row of cars on the passenger side, and he stood up directly in the path of the two kids heading in his direction. Confronted by a big police officer holding a gun, both kids dropped to their knees with their hands raised.

"Got 'em," he called to Andy, who had three of her own kneeling on the concrete. He kicked aside the hockey stick and bat that they had been carrying and cuffed his two together so they couldn't try to run off as he patted them down. Once he was satisfied that they had nothing dangerous in their pockets he herded them towards Andy. She was still standing over her three, having moved their sticks out of reach, and when Chris arrived she holstered her gun, cuffed them and began patting each one down.

"Not quite as much fun when you get caught, is it?" she asked cheerfully, grinning down at the unhappy faces before her.

"Don't say anything!" one of the boys ordered his companions. "My mother is a lawyer..."

"Oh great," muttered Chris. "Just what I was hoping for, instant lawyering-up."

Just then the squad car's radio crackled again, and Chloe was yelling, "Dov, we've got a runner! Heading south on Sumac."

"Copy that," Gail responded with glee, and hit the siren. Dov squealed around the corner and headed north on Sumac, catching a short skinny figure in the glare of his headlights.

"Down, now," Gail ordered over the loudspeaker and after looking around in desperation but seeing no escape, the kid complied.

"So what have we got?" Traci radioed. "Ready to head back?

Andy nodded to Chris, who responded to Traci. "We have five in custody, along with three hockey sticks and two baseball bats."

Gail was next. "One, with a bat and one dime bag."

"We could use some help with transport," Nick advised, "Since we have four over here, with assorted sticks and bats."

"We'll pull around to take one off your hands," Dov responded.

"We have five unhappy people over here," Andy reported. "We can take two, three at a pinch but I guess we could use some backup."

"Can we take some?" Pete asked Traci.

"Not really – there's no way to secure them and we don't really want to be driving without making sure they can't hit us on the head or strangle us with their handcuffs."

"Good point," Pete conceded. "Should I call for backup then?"

"Sure," Traci agreed, "but you might want to check to see if any of the others have already done that."

"OK," Pete replied as he got out of the van. Before he got to Andy, Dov and Chloe he heard a siren close by. "Is that your backup?" he called to the group.

"Yep," Andy responded. "See you back at the barn."

Pete returned to the van and let Traci know that backup was arriving.

"Great," Traci sighed, "That means we can head back ourselves and I might get to go home before the sun comes up."

It took a couple of hours before the booking paperwork was done, but there was one pleasant surprise that cheered everyone up. The lawyer-mother turned out to be a very sensible woman who practically laughed in her son's face when he greeted her arrival with, "About time you got here. Get me out of here, please!"

"You're kidding, right?" his mother chuckled. "I told you last time that if it happened again you'd have to face the consequences, and here we are. I'm only here, as a responsible parent, because you're a juvenile. They will probably let you go on a promise to appear, and you'll be notified of your court date."

"Court? You're gonna make me go to court?" the kid squealed. "What kind of mother are you?"

"The kind who thinks that any kid dumb enough and bored enough to go out vandalizing property needs a wake-up call. While you're waiting for that court appearance, by the way, you'll be wanting to find a job because you'll be paying the deductible for the owners of the cars whose windows you smashed, plus any additional fine that the judge may levy."

The kid shook his head in disbelief. "I told my friends that you'd be getting us out of this."

"Well, you told them wrong," his mother declared firmly. "I will be happy to represent you all in court, but it will only be to discuss a plea bargain so that you guys will end up with fines and community service instead of the youth detention centre."

The arresting officers had all been crowded into the observation room during this mother-son conversation, and they were all grinning broadly. "I didn't expect that!" Chloe exclaimed happily. "Imagine – a lawyer who doesn't try to convince us that her little angel couldn't possibly do anything wrong."

"No, this is a first for me," Andy commented as she opened the door to the hallway. "I can go home a happy, happy woman."

"Good," came a familiar voice, and she turned to see Sam leaning against the wall, arms folded across his chest.

"You're still here!" Andy sighed. "I am so glad to see you."

"We decided that you ladies could use a drink and then a ride home," came another voice from behind her.

"Dan!" exclaimed Traci. "You didn't have to come to get me."

"I know I didn't have to – but I wanted to. I feel like I've hardly seen you for at least a week," Dan asserted.

"We can discuss how much we all miss each other at The Penny," Sam interrupted. "Let's get going."

"Right – see you there," agreed Bailey, as he wrapped his arm around Traci's shoulders.

"See you there," Andy called after the departing couple as she took Sam's outstretched hand. "I'm really glad you're here," she murmured. "It was a very successful night, but it has been a long, long day."

"I'm glad I'm here too," Sam said with a grin. "I missed you. We'll go have a drink and then head home?"

"Home sounds great," said Andy.


	12. Chapter 12

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** **Boy, this chapter really got away from me! I had planned to include everything that happened when they got home, but it's already too long so that will have to wait.**

 **NOTE**

 **A few people have commented that Andy could hardly have been unaware of Valentine's Day, and I agree – but I think her awareness was of the general variety, the sense that oh yes, there's all this advertising and promotion; but in terms of actually taking in its significance and doing something about it in her own life? I think Andy is the kind of person who thinks to herself "I'd better do something about that," but procrastinates, and then is suddenly hit with the fact that the occasion has arrived but she hasn't actually done anything about it. I know (and am related to) people like that, and I know it's not that they don't care, it's simply that there is so much else going on in their lives. So that's just my idea of why Andy is surprised that it's already here.**

Toronto is a vibrant and exciting city – most of the time. February? Not so much. It's damp and cold and if there's snow on the ground it's grey and grungy with litter frozen into it, and there's usually a cold, cold wind blowing in from the lake. Andy's shift had seemed twice as long as usual, even though she was riding with Chloe. Usually Chloe, for sheer entertainment value, just couldn't be beat. She rattled on about anything and everything – sometimes a little too much everything: Andy really did not want to hear details of the Price/Epstein love life. But Chloe had a miserable cold ( _Oh, goodie, something to look forward to,_ Andy thought, imagining the squad car just full of cold virus) so she had been uncharacteristically quiet.

When they got back to 15 at the end of shift there seemed to be an unusual air of excitement buzzing around. Looking around Andy noticed vases of roses on various desks, boxes of chocolates sitting on others, and strings of paper hearts and little cut-out Cupids stuck to the walls.

"Oh crap, Price, it's Valentine's Day, isn't it?" Andy muttered.

Chloe actually brightened up for a moment. "Yeah, it is – you should have seen how cute Dov was this morning! He came into the bedroom after his shower wearing the most hilarious boxers. They had comets and shooting stars all over them, and the words "Great Balls of Fire" across the front, and he wanted to show…"

"Shut _up_ , Chloe!" Andy shuddered. It was going to take some time to erase that image from her mind. She looked around for something to distract Chloe's attention, and pointed out a stack of red envelopes on the table. "Are those valentines, do you think? I wonder who they're for."

Chloe made a beeline for them, and Andy quickly slipped away to the locker room. She showered quickly and headed for her locker. When she opened it she found an unfamiliar gift bag hanging on one of the hooks. Looking inside she saw lots of pouffy tissue paper and an envelope. She opened it with a sinking feeling. Sure enough it was a beautiful valentine, simple and elegant rather than hearts-and-flowery, with Sam's message inside: "To my wife on our first married Valentine's Day. Will you have dinner with me? I really do have reservations this time, and it's pretty fancy so you might need what's in the bag." Andy lifted out the tissue paper to find a box from a very classy boutique, and inside the box a gorgeous red dress. Her favourite pair of black stilettos rested at the bottom of the bag.

Still wrapped in her towel she sat on the bench, looking at the bag and its contents, and shaking her head, Traci came in with a big smile on her face.

"Do you like it? Isn't it great? Sam picked it out all by himself. I mean he asked me where to shop, so I took him to that little place we went to last summer, remember? I thought he'd need my advice but he spotted this right away and it really is just perfect. Hey, is something wrong? You don't look like a woman whose husband just gave her a wonderful surprise."

Andy hung her head. "I didn't get him anything, Trace. Not even a card. I never even thought about Valentine's Day. How can I go out with him wearing this fabulous dress – how much did it cost? It looks expensive! – when I don't have anything for him?"

Traci laughed. "I think we already established who gives better gifts in your relationship, at your engagement party. Do you think he cares about a card? He has you, and I'm pretty sure that's enough to keep him happy."

Andy smiled a little. "I hope you're right," she said softly. "Is it the right size?"

"Of course it is. Even if I hadn't been there with him, I'm pretty sure Sam knows your size and shape perfectly. Put it on, put it on!"

"All right, give me a minute – what am I supposed to wear under it?" Andy demanded, rummaging fruitlessly in the empty gift bag.

"Oh good grief, you threw it on the floor!" Traci exclaimed, rescuing something from amidst the discarded tissue paper. She held out a handful of silk and lace, which turned out to be a teddy and matching thong.

"Wow!" Andy shook her head in amazement. "I wish I could have seen Mr. Macho Cop choosing these!"

"You _should_ have seen him – so serious, as if he were investigating clues in a case, until he found just the right ones," Traci confided with a grin. "Now hurry up and get dressed. Do you want me to fix your hair?"

"That would be great," Andy replied as she stood up and dropped her towel. Getting into the lingerie took no time at all, and she slipped the dress over her head and shimmied it into place. It was absolutely plain, just a little above-the-knee sheath with spaghetti straps. She walked over to look at herself in the mirror. "He has pretty good taste, doesn't he?" she called back over her shoulder as she turned from side to side.

"I'm glad you think so," came Sam's voice from behind her. She whirled around to see him standing in the doorway, his dimples in full display. He was wearing his black suit with a pink shirt and deeper pink tie, and looking so proud of himself that Andy had to smile back.

"It's beautiful, and so is the card, and I would love to have dinner with you. Real reservations?" she asked with a grin.

"Real reservations, which we don't want to be late for, so how about you get your shoes on, and your good coat is outside the locker room," Sam responded, his hand on her back urging her towards the bench where her shoes were waiting. She sat down to put them on when Sam suddenly squatted down in front of her, taking her foot in one hand and slipping the shoe on, repeating with the other one. Satisfied that they were in place he ran a hand up the back of her leg and tickled the soft spot behind her knee until she swatted it away.

"None of that now," she said firmly. "We have reservations."

"We do," Sam agreed and they walked out of the locker room hand in hand. Traci was waiting outside, and she snapped a picture with her phone. "This is going on the bulletin board," she chuckled.

To her surprise, and Andy's, Sam made no protest at all to this remark. He just kept going, tugging Andy along so she was almost running. "Gotta go, Nash," he said firmly. "Reservations won't wait."

Sam helped Andy with her coat, and went ahead of her to get the truck. When he pulled up in front of the station door he jumped out so he could escort Andy and help her into her seat. "Buckle up," he reminded her as he went back around to the driver's side.

"Where are we going?" Andy asked curiously.

"There's a new Mexican restaurant - not fake Mexican, really authentic – that I read reviews for, and everyone was giving it five stars. A couple of them mentioned that there's live music too, and a small dance floor," Sam announced proudly. "I figured it should be pretty romantic."

"It sounds great," Andy said happily. "Food, music, dancing – and you. What more could I possibly want?"

The restaurant wasn't far, and there was valet parking so Sam pulled up right in front of the doors. A parking attendant opened the door for Andy and offered his hand to help her out, as Sam came around to join them. The attendant gave him the token and he went around to get into the truck. "Enjoy your evening," he said with a grin.

"I'm sure we will," Andy and Sam said at the same time, and they laughed as they turned to go inside. The doorman pulled open one of the massive carved wooden doors, and a wave of warm air welcomed them, accompanied by the sounds of conversation, laughter and guitar music.

"Reservation for Swarek," Sam told the maitre d', who smiled and beckoned to the hostess. "Please show Mr. and Mrs. Swarek to their table," he said, in a deep voice with a pleasant Spanish accent.

Andy followed the hostess, Sam close behind her, and they arrived at a table located close to the large open fireplace. Andy looked around in delight, taking in the soft colours of rosy brick and creamy adobe, with brilliant accents of woven rugs underfoot and hanging on the walls. "This is really beautiful, Sam," she exclaimed.

"If the food lives up to the décor we're in for a treat," Sam observed as he accepted a menu from the hostess.

"Miguel will be your server this evening," she informed them, "and he will be with you in just a moment." She nodded in the direction of a young man who was saying good-bye to a party of four who were getting ready to leave.

"Gracias," Sam said automatically, and he and Andy settled into their comfortable chairs to look at the menus.

"Did you want a drink first, McNally, or wait to have wine with dinner?" Sam perused the wine list while Andy watched a nearby table being served with a tray of colourful drinks.

"Let's have a drink first," she suggested. "Those look so good."

"Do you see anything you like the looks of?" Sam inquired as their server approached the table.

Andy looked at the pictures in the menu. "This one is so pretty! It looks like a sunset," she exclaimed, pointing to a colourful layered cocktail.

" Buenas noches, señor, señorita, I am Miguel and I am happy to look after you tonight.. Something to drink first, señor? Señorita?" he asked, smiling at Andy.

"It's señora," Sam observed politely, "and yes, she will have an El Gusano Rojo and I'll have a Dos Equis, please."

Miguel's brilliant smile faded just a little as he acknowledged Sam's comment. "Yes, sir, I'll bring your drinks right away."

"I think you scared poor Miguel," Andy murmured. "You really felt you had to intervene? There's nothing wrong with a little flirtation from a cute waiter, is there?"

"Just clarifying," Sam said with a grin. "He can still flirt with you as long as he knows the score."

"El Gusano Rojo? Sounds exotic – what does it mean?"

"You're probably better off not knowing," Sam suggested, much to Andy's annoyance.

"Why do you do that?" she fussed. "Tell me, or I'll ask Miguel."

"Fine. It means 'The Red Worm'," Sam snickered.

"It does not – does it?" Andy protested.

"It does."

"It doesn't have an actual worm, does it? Like tequila?"

"No, dear, no worm. I think maybe it's just that the red layer at the bottom looks a little…"

"Stop!" Andy ordered. "You do not need to finish that thought. As long as you can personally assure me that my drink is wormless, I'll be fine. "

"I think you'll really like it – it has passion fruit nectar, ginger beer and grenadine in addition to the mescal," Sam reassured her.

"Passion fruit, huh?" Andy said with a raised eyebrow. "What an excellent choice for a Valentine's Day dinner!"

Sam grinned and looked down again at the menu. "See anything you like?"

"It all looks really good – you know what I like; could you suggest something?"

"I think you might enjoy this one," Sam said, pointing to a picture. "It's a beef fillet with a wine and adobo sauce."

"Sounds delicious! I'll have that," Andy replied happily. "What about you?"

"I'm looking at this one, maybe." Sam tilted his menu towards her.

"Mmm, grilled citrus-marinated chicken," Andy read aloud. "That sounds really good too. Maybe I should…"

"No, you don't need to change yours – I'm happy to share," Sam countered.

"You really _are_ a wonderful husband," Andy declared. "I don't know any other men who are willing to share their dinner."

"Yeah, I guess I am pretty awesome," Sam chuckled.

"You are," Andy began, but she was interrupted by the arrival of their drinks.

"El Gusano Rojo, señora, and for you, señor, a Dos Equis. Are you ready to order?

"I think so," Sam replied. "Un filete con pure adobado para la señora, y para mi, el pollo asado con naranja, por favor."

Miguel smiled at Sam with genuine pleasure. "Tu español es muy bueno," he declared.

"Gracias," Sam said, smiling back.

Miguel took their menus and left them to their drinks. Andy looked carefully into her glass, which had layers ranging from deep red at the bottom to brilliant orange in the middle, ending with bright yellow on top.

"No worm, Andy," Sam reassured her. He took a drink of his beer while Andy sipped cautiously at her cocktail.

"Oh, this is delicious!" she exclaimed. "I probably wouldn't care if there was a – no, I definitely would care. But I'll take your word for it. Mmmm," she purred as she took a larger sip.

It wasn't too long before their dinners arrived, and Sam sat back for a moment, watching Andy take her first bite of her steak.

"Oh my god," she moaned, "this is fantastic! You have to try it!" She cut off a generous piece and put it on the edge of Sam's plate. "How is your chicken?" As she popped another bite into her mouth she looked up and realized that Sam hadn't started his dinner, being content to watch her. She blushed, waving at his plate to encourage him to eat.

"What do you want, McNally?" Sam asked seriously. "I can't understand you with your mouth full."

Andy finally swallowed. "You aren't supposed to sit and watch me eat," she protested. "It's embarrassing."

"I just like to watch you enjoying yourself," Sam countered. "But if it bothers you I'll stop – for now. That's not to say I won't want to watch you, ah, enjoying yourself later."

Andy looked up quickly, trying to detect any hidden meaning in Sam's words, but he was concentrating on his plate so she let it go.

After their entrée they each ordered another drink. Miguel offered the dessert menu but Andy shook her head regretfully. "No, thank you. I'm very full." "Me too," added Sam, and Miguel left to get their drinks.

"Too full? Really? That's not like you, McNally," Sam commented.

"Well, it is tonight. I wouldn't want to be all bloated and sluggish when we get home," Andy stated.

"Oh? Did you have something active planned for when we get home?" Sam asked. He reached across the table and captured Andy's hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing the inside of her wrist.

Andy shivered slightly. "That's nice," she said softly. Moments later Sam jumped a little, looking startled. He put his other hand under the table and caught Andy's bare foot sliding along his inner thigh. As unobtrusively as possible he leaned forward slightly, his hand travelling slowly from her ankle up her calf. He only got as far as her knee, but already Andy's eyes were half closed and she seemed to be breathing a little faster. She wiggled her toes against the slight bulge in his pants, pleased to see him squirm in his chair.

Just then Miguel returned with their drinks. Andy withdrew her foot, but caught Miguel grinning at Sam. Sam coughed slightly, realizing that the young server was fully aware of what had been going on under the table, but couldn't prevent himself from grinning back. "Gracias, Miguel," he said cheerfully. "Tendría que aportar la factura, por favor?"

"Si, señor," Miguel replied.

Sam and Andy didn't linger over their drinks. Sam took care of the bill, leaving Miguel a substantial tip, and Andy went to retrieve her coat from the coat check. As Sam joined her Miguel appeared beside the maitre d'.

"Buenos noches," Sam said with a smile. "y gracias. Todo fue muy bueno."

"De nada, señor," the maitre d' replied. "Buenos noches."

"Buenos noches, señora," Miguel joined in. "Buenos noches, señor."

As they turned to leave Sam wrapped his arm around Andy's waist, pulling her close against his side.


End file.
